UK’s first dedicated creative campus platform launched

An experienced team of entertainment, digital and real estate experts have united to launch POT Studios, the UK’s first dedicated creative campus platform.

The creative campuses will cater to a range of needs from the creative industries, theatre, opera, performance, gaming, live music, Web3 production, television and film production and immersive experiences.

Co-location with educational facilities will provide opportunities for on-site training, addressing a creative skills shortage by ensuring students enter the workforce with hands-on, relevant studio and live set experience.

As a digital-first platform, POT Studios will also explore avenues to partner with digital IP, blockchain and metaverse services to further enhance its live performance offering live broadcast performances.

With a pipeline of identified sites, the platform will help to meet the demand for facilities at every stage of the production cycle, supporting a £125 billion industry responsible for over 2 million jobs.

Chaired and led by urban regeneration specialist Ken Dytor, POT Studios will develop and operate mixed-use creative campuses that bring together production, post-production, live performance space, and education and training facilities.

THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP

• Chair Ken Dytor has held senior roles at creative and educational organisations including English Heritage, High House Production Park, the UK Han Cultural Association, Rivington Place visual arts centre, and London South Bank University.  He also held high-profile real estate-related roles, including at British Land, The Crown Estate, British Council of Offices, Central London Partnership and Thames Estuary Growth Board.
• Director of Web3 and Metaverse, Ding Ding, a blockchain expert, will oversee the platform’s onchain metaverse and immersive services. Ding brings nearly two decades of experience in the creative industries and education sector, including roles at London South Bank University and UK-based arts charity Kinetika People.
• Operations Director Brian Warrens FRSA has over four decades in training, production and event management, most recently as a director at purpose-built production, training and rehearsal facility The Backstage Centre at High House Production Park in Purfleet-on-Thames
• Chief Marketing and Business Development Director Justin Lanchbury, has 25 years’ experience in sales, business development and post-production, including for James Bond blockbuster No Time to Die.

THE CAMPUSES 

The creative campuses will be designed by RIOS, the international architecture studio behind the award-winning Spotify Creative Campus in Los Angeles. Seeking to bridge the gap between the creative and local communities, the campuses will be designed to integrate into their surrounding area, including through food and beverage offerings, community and events space, and pedestrianised routes.

Initially focused on the Thames Estuary Production Corridor, POT Studios intends to scale its platform of creative campuses across strategic locations in the UK and internationally. The platform will both reposition existing assets and acquire land suitable for ground-up development of brand-new space.

The creative space on the campuses will be bolstered by the co-location of complementary property uses, such as hotels, student housing, science and innovation labs, and data centres, with the exact mix of uses bespoke to the needs of each location.

Brian Warrens, Operations Director at POT Studios, said: “Alongside meeting growing space requirements, POT Studios aims to play a crucial role in maintaining the UK’s global standing when it comes to the creative industries by helping tackle the emerging skills shortage. Our integrated on-site offering, blending real-world application with education and training, will help young talent enter the workplace ‘set-ready’.”

Justin Lanchbury, Marketing and Business Development Director at POT Studios, said: “POT Studios will look to serve the whole UK creative eco-system through the provision of best-in-class space in campuses that embrace new technologies, surrounding communities and complementary uses. There are powerful tailwinds behind the creative sector with new tax reliefs and recognition in the government’s industrial strategy which we will look to capitalise on, while our combined industry networks give us deep in-roads into potential customers and collaborators that will help us build a market-leading platform.”

Ding Ding, Director of Web3 and Metaverse at POT Studios, said: “Fundamentally, POT Studios will be a digital-first platform, creating the space required for the UK’s emerging digitally enabled creative industries like e-sports, Web3 production and video games to grow and scale. Our ambition is to partner with the next wave of innovators to unlock additional value while integrating technology that streamlines and enhances the occupier and visitor experience.”

Ken Dytor, Chair at POT Studios, said: “Supporting one of the country’s most important growth sectors, the launch of POT Studios marks the UK’s first dedicated platform of its kind, as a shift towards higher-budget, long-term production has increased demand for highly specialised space. By catering to every aspect of creative production and performance, we aim to build on and strengthen the UK’s long tradition as a global powerhouse for creativity, including through the educational facilities that will nurture the next generation of talent and avoid a shortfall of studio-ready skills.”